[cheers] what you think about the slate of candidates . [applause] we have a good group coming ahead. Are you ready to hear them . [applause] ok, were going to do a little bit of tightening if you can. If you have an empty seat next to you, filled up. If you folks are looking for a chair in the aisle, come and sit in the seat right now. Just come in and still fill the seat. Tighten up your seats. Give a good old north iowa hug and get close and cuddly. That is what i was all about. [laughter] here we go folks. Now we going to give a coveted beacon award. The beacon award would not be possible if it were not for gary sinton and dean gand putting this award together 12 years ago. [applause] every year we have given the beacon award to amazing people from a federal level, statelevel, and national level. Barack obama got a got it Hillary Clinton got it, ted kennedy got it. Then sharon seckman got it last year. A big handout for sharon seckman. Our very own Amanda Raymond got it. We have given it to tom vilsack and tom harkin. Now we have got a great dual. [applause] thank you randy. These are certainly dark and scary times we live in. Politically right now. It is especially important for us to honor people who shed a beacon of light upon what the best democratic principles and some of the best democratic ideals, among our former elected political officials. When we looked around for this years awardee, we realized that in the state of iowa we have a couple right here in our home state. That we all have been very, very proud of. So it gives gary and i great pleasure to introduce this years wing ding beacon award winner. The award goes to bob dworsky and sue dworsky. I said to bob it seems really strange to know him far more than a decade now and not realize until i got the bio, that bob served as superintendent of recreation for the city of mason city iowa from 1973 to 1979. Former Saratoga County supervisor jay doll got his start as a youth basketball referee under bobs watch. Returning to his hometown of coralville, bob served on the city council until 1986. In 1987 he was elected to the iowa house of representatives. Thats the i was senate. In 1990. Two the iowa senate in 1994. 1994. He served till 2018 as the Senate Appropriations chair. Near 40 years of Public Service to iowa. [applause] sue dworsky was a special Education Teacher in iowa city schools from 1979 to 2010. A proud number of the i was state education association, sue was an active leader in local affiliates, the iowa City Education association, and served as president , chief negotiator, and other leadership roles through her career. Sue and i began working together when she became the Iowa Democratic party chair, which culminated in the pivotal reelection of president barack obama. [applause] there are few days in my life that i have been were proud to be an iowa democrat. When gary and i sat along pennsylvania avenue and cheered on sue dvorsky when she came to the inaugural parade, carrying the iowa flag proudly. It was a great moment to see, and im sure brought me to tears. In retirement they continue to support efforts to make their community and iowa a safer, more welcoming, and more inclusive place. So it is with great pleasure, that gary and i presented this 2019 beacon award to two outstanding islands, of light. That we aspire to be. Sue and bob dworsky, would you please come forward . [applause] [applause] wow. Thank you very much. One of the things we were looking at. My career in mason city. Then my career in Public Service. Essentially how i learned about Public Service was working in mason city as superintendent of recreation. Those values carried on to serving as a city councilmember and in the iowa house and senate. So did a number of role models that i had here in mason city. You may remember dan mae was park superintendent. Your member mayor kent pugh. And someone else who was involved in this group a lot, dr. Ron masters, the parks commissioner that hired me in mason city all those years ago. They were great role models a Public Service. Years later, we also found out there were a number of great elected officials in our that serve as role models. [indiscernible] and today you have two great role models, representative sharon steckman, and my friend and colleague senator amanda. Without those role models i cannot go wrong. Im truly touched by this award today. We are humbled by this and appreciate it and thank you. [applause] we thank you dean and we thank you gary. We thank randy and all of the people who put this together. This is truly remarkably humbling. We look at the past recipients and we are actually a little bit embarrassed. But incredibly proud. Weour work is no different than the work of all of you. Our work was born out of our professional responsibilities. That was carried through because we wanted to make our communities a little stronger, whatever that community was at the time. So we accept this reward with so much gratitude. On behalf of the teachers, who, right now are stocking up on breakfast bars. And pencils. On behalf of the healthcare workers [applause] fighting for their union rides because they know that when they can take better care of each other, they can take better care of us and our families. We accept this award on behalf of the thousands of activists in the state and in this country who stood up, decided to step up, step out, step out of their comfort zone, and move into unity to make their country, their state, their town, their blocks, their precinct a stronger place. The work ahead of us this year is not really like any work thats ever been ahead of us. We listen to these remarkable women and men running for president , but we also celebrate jd shelton. [applause] we celebrate the women and men who stepped forward to run for the u. S. Senate. And we know that theyre doing that with us together, and they know we stand on the shoulders of giants, but all of us move forward together, celebrating our ancestors, our mothers, our fathers, who set about making this state the place that we love so much. So thank you very much, northern iowa. [applause] iowa. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Wow. [applause] thank you. Thank you, clear like. Clearlake. Thank you, iowa. Wow. What a reception. You know how to make somebody feel welcome. Im going to have to keep coming up here. Im so glad to be with you. My name is pete buttigieg. Im running for president because i think our countrys running out of time. But i also think its not too late. Youve got to ask yourself, how does a guy like donald trump ever get within cheating distance in the oval office to begin with . That doesnt happen in ordinary times. It happens in crisis and weve seen it. Living with School Shootings and Climate Change, and an economy that doesnt work for most of us, where gdp can go up and Life Expectancy can go down. Something is deeply troubled in this country. It means were not going to be able to fix it by recycling the same arguments that have dominated washington as long as ive been alive. Weve got to do something completely different. [applause] now im excited to be in this part of iowa because this is a great place to remind the country and each other that there is no such thing as a permanently red state or county precinct. [applause] but we got to find a new vocabulary, call on us to organize around our values. So now is the time that values is a conservative idea, especially in our time. Values like freedom are not conservative values. Theyre American Values and today, they have progressive implications. [applause] were the ones ready to secure freedom in a world where freedom requires access to health care. Thats freedom, too. Now im excited to be in this part of iowa because this is a not just cutting a regulation. Freedom comes by way of education, which is why we need a secretary of education that actually believes in public education. [applause] youre not free in this country if youre not able to organize for a good days pay and a good days work. Thats why i stand for organized labor. [applause] and women are not free in this country when their access to Reproductive Health is dictated by mailboxes and mail politicians male bosses and male politicians. So dont let anybody tell you the other party is the party of freedom. Same thing that goes for patriotism. We are going to break the thinking that the flag longs on one side of the aisle. The flight that was attached to my soldier when i was in afghanistan, it was not a republican flag. It was an american flag. [applause] the idea that we are able and indeed sometimes required to be critical of our leadership, and when we do, nobody will question our loyalty to the public, for which it stands, let alone tell us to go back to where we came from. [applause] lets talk about patriotism. Lets talk about National Security. There is no National Security when we dont have racial justice, let alone where we have a president coddling white nationalists. White nationalism is a threat to this country. Weve got to name it for what it is and weve got to fight it. [applause] so is climate disruption. Thats a security challenge. So is cybersecurity and election security. Were not going to meet these 21st century challenges with 17thcentury solutions. Weve got to do something different. Lets talk about political strategy. We cant look like the party of back to normal. What we have now isnt working, but normal isnt working either. And were not going to win on this president s show, because on his show, i dont know what to call it. Horror show, reality show, a couple other words come to mind. But if youre on this show, even winning or losing, which is why were going to pick up the remote and change the channel. So can i count on you to help us change the channel . Can i look to you to help us not just when the era, but the future of this country . And are we willing to do it in the name of our values . [indiscernible] we are going to do it together. Im proud to be with you every step of the way. Thank you. I will see you on the ground. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Thank you so much. [applause] aloha. Aloha, iowa democrats. Its so great you could be here. Now its been a dark week for us in this country. Weve seen great loss and weve seen great tragedy, and it breaks our heart to see how this country that we love is being torn apart. And it breaks our hearts because we care for each other. We care for our fellow americans. And it breaks our heart to see that we have a president in the white house who is abusing his power, who is misusing his position to stoke fear, to stoke racism, to stoke bigotry, all for his personal selfish political gain. It breaks my heart because its not who we are. Its not who we are as americans and its not who we are as a country during these times where we feel such despair and all hope is sometimes lost to remember who we are. And the values and principles that bind us together in this country, enshrined in our constitution, that remind us we are all created equal. [applause] that we all are guaranteed these freedoms and rights, the right to life liberty, and this pursuit of happiness. We are seeing the dangerous consequences of where this device of past takes us, and we are choosing to stand firmly in those values that unite us as we build this path forward, recognizing that yes, our country is far from perfect. We still have a lot of work to do. But when we focus on this unifying principle, but we in hawaii call the spirit of aloha, aloha means it so much more than hello and goodbye. What it really means is love and respect, and a recognition that we are all connected, that we are all children of god. We are all brothers and sisters regardless of the color of our skin or where we come from or who we love or how we worship or if we worship. [applause] it is in this spirit that i am asking and offering to lead as your president and commanderinchief. It is in this spirit that we together can stand united and lift our voices for each other, inspired by this unified spirit of love, towards that more Perfect Union that we always strive for. It is in this spirit that we can bring about the kind of systemic change that we need to see to make sure that every american in this country is able to get the Quality Health care that they need and deserve. [applause] it is in this spirit we can bring about the kind of change we need to protect our planet, to address Climate Change, make sure each of us has clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, things that are essential to every single one of us. We can bring about political justice reform, comprehensive immigration reform, deal with the challenges of our time when we stand together and against anyone who seeks to divide us, because this has happened for far too long and we the people have suffered as a result. I want to take a moment here and recognize the veterans here in the room and anyone who has a military family member. Would you mind standing for a second and let us thank you for your service . Thank you for your sacrifice. [applause] you embody thank you so much. You embody what it means to put service above self. You have experienced what i have, what it means to see the diverse fabric of this country come together in the uniform that we wear, united with that singular focus of putting service above self, putting the interest of our country and the American People above all else. As veterans, we also know the cost of war. And as your president and commanderinchief, i commit to ending these wasteful regime change wars, making it so not a single more of our brothers and sisters loses their life, and instead focus on investing our resources, our limited taxpayer dollars of serving the needs for people right here at home. Weve got to get our priorities straight. Im grateful for the opportunity to be here. For more information, visit my website. See you back here soon. Thank you all so much. Have a great night. Aloha. [applause] hello, iowa. So i got to tell you. The reason i love iowa is you know how to fight and you know how to win elections. Who is going to beat steve king next election . Iowa njd. And jd. Hes going to do it. And what about teresa greenfield . Is she going to be in the u. S. Senate in 2020 . Yes, she is. And thank you for sending cindy and abby. They have made such a difference already. I got my start in politics because i had a grandmother who got her start in politics. She never got to go to college. She was a secretary in the state legislature. But she spent the next two generations organizing women to get an politics, to stuff envelopes and make phone calls. My First Experience was 11 years old, hot campaign headquarters, everybody stuffing envelopes. The ladies are wearing seat sleeveless dresses. Im mesmerized by their arms, those jiggly arms, just jiggling. And in my mind, im thinking i want to be just like them someday, jiggly arms for everybody [applause] so my grandmother taught me a lot of things. The one thing she taught me, the one thing she taught me is that nothing is impossible. Nothing is impossible if youre willing to put your mind to it, if youre willing to work hard and never give up. And i learned that lesson from her. So if you want to get something done in washington, just, its impossible and i promise you ill get it done because thats what ive done every step of my career. When i first ran for congress, everyone said it was impossible. You can never win. I said i can raise the money. I can clearly win. He said you cant win. Theres more cows than democrats. You just cant win. But sure enough, we won. And we won again and the second time, we won by a 20 point margin. I know how to win and read places and blue places and purple places. When i went to the senate, i met with a man serving in the military. He was willing to die for our country. But he was told he had to lie about who he was and who he loved. I went to democrats and said we need to repeal dont ask, dont tell. They say why are you doing this now . Its so inconvenient. I said when our civil rights ever convenient . You do it because its the right thing to do. So i stood up to the pentagon and we repealed it. Not impossible. When i met with 9 11 first responders, they said they needed health care. They said no one will ever spend money in new york state. Sure enough, we knocked on every door, lifted up their voices. Last week, we made the 9 11 bill permanent, not impossible. [applause] so the only question that iowa asked me, the only question is can you beat President Trump . Yes, we can. It is not impossible. We can beat him at the ballot box. President trump has done some of the worst things i can imagine. Hes divided us. He spewed hate and division everywhere he goes. He separated and divided this country. We need a president whose brave. We need a president who will take on the battles no one else will. We need a president who will Bring Congress together to pass the Green New Deal, put a price on carbon, health care as a right, not a privilege, take on the nra, and and gun violence in this country. These are not impossible. We will, together, defeat trump and get things done because that is who we are as iowa democrats. We will defeat trump god bless you. [applause] good evening, everybody. Everyone, there are a lot of wonderful people, a lot of vips, but i want to introduce you to the most important vips in my life. First of all, my wife of 25 years, charlene mcrae. [applause] and everyone in this room who cares about Mental Health care, she has made it her business to break down the stigma thats keeping people from getting the Mental Health care they need. Weve got to fix that in america and in iowa, dont we . And i want to introduce you a recent college graduate, my son dante. [applause] you dont mind if im a proud papa for a moment, do you . Dante was also a new york state debate champion. [applause] and i had a secret weapon a few days ago because he helped prepare me before i went on Sean Hannitys show. So i was able to put sean in his place because i had a good coach. Thank you, dante. [applause] so, i want to do some quick audience participation. Look around the room. People are making a difference, agents of change. People are helping their communities. Give your neighbor a round of applause, everyone. [applause] and a little more audience participation, lets be clear about who we are as democrats. Are way the party of working people . [applause] are we the party of labor unions . [applause] are we the party of equality . [applause] are we the party of change . [applause] are we the party of big donors . No are we the party of big corporations . No. Are we the party of the status quo . I agree with you. We are going to make changes to this country. I run the nations largest city. Its not easy. When i became mayor, i said i would make a lot of changes. They said it could not be done. But we gave prek to every single child for free in new york city. [applause] we made sure we got the 15 minimum wage for working people. We got paid sick days. And then we went farther because we had hundreds of thousands of april with no Health Insurance. So now we are guaranteeing health care for anyone who does not have insurance. And one more thing, for all the hardworking people out there, we are going to do something to new york that should have then done along time ago, the only country that doesnt guarantee people time off. We are guaranteeing two weeks paid vacation for every working person. And that should be all over america, shouldnt it . Prek, 15 minimum wage. These are changes we need. Ive seen change. Ive made change. I know it can happen. But my friends, i want to caution. Because theres a lot of voices of conventional wisdom telling us dont be too bold. Dont sound like you want to rock the boat too much. A lot of time the commentators say the only way we win is if we dont sound like we are trying to do too much for people. Doesnt make sense to me. Rural iowa doesnt need just a little change. Rural iowa needs Mental Health services for everyone who needs it. Rural iowa needs hospitals to be kept open, not for them to close. Rural iowa needs schools to be kept open, needs prek for the children. Rural iowa needs universal health care more than most places because people are not going to get these things unless there is universal health care. When we are bold, we inspire people, we move people. Folks dont come out to vote because they hear a nice bland message. They come to vote when they hear passion and believe change can happen. And thats the party we need to be. Im going to Say Something controversial. The man were all here to beat, he told people they were going to break the status quo. He told them he was going to rock the boat. He rocked it a little too far, i think we would agree. But he got people start because he said things would change. We need to be the party that says things will change once and for all. And we can do that. And ill finish with this. I want to say, as a new yorker, im really, really sorry you got to know donald trump. Im really sorry about it. But this new yorker is happy to get rid of him for you. Thank you. God bless you all. [applause] [applause] its been wonderful to hear all my fellow candidates who are here this afternoon. And i have agreed with more than them than i disagreed with. But i also think we need to face facts. Weve been saying these things and we lost last time. Weve been promoting these same political values and weve been losing congressional seats too often, losing senatorial seats too often. I want to talk to you about the transformation we need in this country that will only happen if we have transformation in politics, and if we embrace a more transformational vision. Ive read an interview with Jared Kushner and he said he had been in a mcdonalds with his fatherinlaw, and he told his fatherinlaw there are so many angry people out there, we could harness all that anger and we could make you president. And i thought to myself when i read that, there are so many good people out there and 70 decent people, loving people out there, we could harness all that and change the world. [applause] the American People are good people. They are loving people. But the American Peoples goodness and love has not been channeled through american politics in a way that it should be, for a long time. And the only way were going to do that is if we get way more deep and way more real, because love tells the truth. We have an enemy here that is more than one political candidate. We have collective eyes, fear, bigotry, racism, islamophobia, antisemitism. There are more that love than hate, but those who hate hate with seriousness and they are politicized. The only way you are going to be to big lies is with big truth. The Democratic Party is only going to win this election and our future if we start telling big truths that too often we have not called. The truth is, 40 years ago, we started acquiescing to an Economic System that has corrupted our government, that said shortterm profits came before the advocacy for the people of the United States, for the people of the world, and the planet on which we stand. Too often, democrats have been proposing policies that help us sway the pain. Democrats need to challenge those forces that make that pain and evitable. We cannot do that if we are making the money from those Health Insurance companies and taking money from big pharma and from the manufacturers, from oil and gas, taking money from chemical companies, taking money from the defense contractors. Ladies and gentlemen, people can smell it. People can smell it. Thats the problem. Donald trump did not win just because a few people were passionate about donald trump. And if he wins again, it will not just be because of a few people who are so passionate about donald trump. He won last time, and if he wins again, he would win again because of so many people that didnt vote. Thats why those of us who are not from careers entrenched within that system have something very important to bring. We have not taken forprofit donations. We are not from the system. I am not prosecuting a case against donald trump. I am prosecuting a case against the system that delivered donald trump. It is that level of truth telling that is going to win this election. Otherwise, we might win. But even if we beat him, those same forces will be back in 2022 and 2024. We need to rise up and be real about the sea of suffering and american children. We need to be real about the fact a militaryindustrial complex does more to determine our National Security agenda than waging peace. And only two people on this campaign are talking about this. Were both girls. Ladies and gentlemen, get real and the democrats will win. Thank you [applause] ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage former hud secretary Julian Castro. Good evening. Its great to be here in north iowa. I want to thank everybody for hosting us here at the wing ding. Your reputation precedes you. Look, i want to spend five minutes talking to you about the country i believe we need to become. We know the country that we have been and that we are. If we were to go around this room, i have no doubt that, in each of your families, you can tell a story of hard work or the kind of values that unite us. Love of country, of faith, of family, of basic compassion and respect for other people, that together have made ours the greatest nation on this planet. The events of the last week reminded us that it is not a foregone conclusion that were going to keep getting better. Im running for president because i feel blessed with the opportunity ive had in the United States. And i want to make sure that everybody can have that same opportunity. I grew up with my grandmother that had come from mexico when she was seven years old as an orphan, worked as a maid, raised my mom as a single parent. My brother and i, were twins, by the way, he says the way to tell us apart is that im a minute uglier than he is, which is not true. We are proud products of the Public Schools in texas. [applause] castro we both had a chance to go from stanford and then Harvard Law School together because i cant get rid of him, and then become the first in our families to become professionals as attorneys and go into Public Service. I had a chance to serve as mayor of my hometown of san antonio, the seventh largest city in the country. And then secretary of hud under barack obama. [applause] castro im running for president because i believe we need to move forward as one nation, with one destiny. And that destiny for our beautiful country in the years to come is to be the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest, and the most prosperous nation on earth. The smartest, healthiest, fairest, most prosperous. If we are going to be the smartest it means universal prek for three and fouryearolds, improving k12 education, paying teachers what they deserve, reducing class sizes, making sure specialneeds children get the education they deserve, reinvesting and trade programs in our high schools, and tuition free public state universities, community colleges, and job training Certification Programs because jobs require more knowledge and more skill than ever before. It means reimagining the Justice System if were going to be a fairer nation, cast bail reforms, making sure we have greater accountability and transparency in Police Departments across the United States so you are treated the same no matter who you are. It means passing the equality act so you cant be discriminated against no matter your Sexual Orientation or gender. And passing the equal rights amendment, and making sure women get people pay for equal work. It means protecting a womans right to choose when its under assault right now. [applause] Julian Castro if were going to be the healthiest, it means changing the Health Care System to one where everybody gets health care. That we build off of medicare and we make sure that its not the profit motive of Big Pharmaceuticals and big insurance companies, but care for people that ensures they get the medication they need. If were going to be the most prosperous nation on earth, it has to mean prosperity for everybody, for urban america and rural americans. It means raising the american minimum wage to 15 an hour, investing in the ability to organize labor unions so they can ensure people get compensated well for the hard work that they do. And it means a tax code that rewards not the wealthy and big corporations, but people who have to work for a living, and investing in affordable housing. It means reforming our immigration system to fix it so we can harness the potential of immigrants in our country. And also addressing the most existential threat to our country, which is Climate Change. My First Executive order, if im elected president , would be to rejoin the paris climate accord, and follow that up with investment in the Green New Deal to create jobs and protect our planet. Our hope is that you will be great ambassadors for our campaign for those that support me. Stay tuned to juliancastro. Com. I believe in the months to come, we can get stronger and stronger and we can win the iowa caucus on february 3 and say no to donald trump on january 2021. Thank you. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the stage ohio representative tim ryan. Rep. Ryan thank you so much. Its great to be in iowa. First, let me say, weve just returned from a trip to louisville, kentucky. After what we saw in el paso, and what we experienced in dayton, ohio, last week, we put a caravan together with moms demand action and myself [applause] rep. Ryan and we went through ohio and we picked up moms, and we went down to louisville, kentucky, where Mitch Mcconnell lives. [applause] [booing] rep. Ryan and we took the fight to his backyard, telling him that we need gun reform in the United States of america, and we need it now. [applause] rep. Ryan we need it now. People are dying on the streets of this country, getting killed by weapons that were made for battlefields, not neighborhoods in places like dayton, ohio. [applause] rep. Ryan the number one obligation that we have as elected officials, whether youre a councilman or a congressman or a president , is to keep the people of this country safe. In this country, well never be safe until we get these weapons of war off the streets of the United States of america. I pledge to you that we will get this done finally in the United States of america. [applause] rep. Ryan but we also have to secure our economy. I come from northeast ohio. 75 of the American People still live paychecktopaycheck. Its time for us to Double Union Membership in the United States of america so we can rebuild the middle class. [applause] rep. Ryan i want us to win the economy of the future, build electric vehicles and solar panels and Wind Turbines right here in the United States of america. Thats how we rebuild the middle class. Theres going to be 10 million electric vehicles made in the next 10 years. I want at least half of those made in the United States. And i want those to go to rural america. I want them to go to the old steel country, old coal, old textile countries, where these communities have fallen behind for the last 30 years. Were going to get that done. We will win the new economy. I promise you that. [applause] rep. Ryan i want us to secure our kids education. Thats why in my education proposal, for k12, and making sure theres a Mental Health counselor in every school in the United States that needs one. I want to make sure theres trauma informed care, social and emotional learning, afterschool, summer school. Weve got to start taking care of our kids. They need us. [applause] we are not going to address and secure our safety through Climate Change if we dont if we only convert our economy over to wind and solar. I am making a proposal for us to convert our industrial agriculture system over to a regenerative, sustainable, agriculture system in the United States. Lets start sequestering carbon in our own earth so that we can preserve our kids future, and we will set up teams to make sure that we implement regenerative agriculture, so that we can be drought resistant, flood resistant, and we can start to heal our planet. Weve got a lot of work to do. But im in a fighting mood. Im irish. [laughter] rep. Ryan Vice President biden, im irish. You know the old irish saying . Is this a private fight or can anybody get into it . [laughter] rep. Ryan im going to tell you a quick story. We were down at the Muhammad Ali Center in louisville. There is this great story. He was walking down the street in kentucky. Someone said champ, i saw you fight when i was a kid. He said, yeah . The kid said you got knocked down in the third round. The champ said it was not my fight. He said no i remember. My dad took me. You got knocked down in the third round. The champ said it wasnt my fight. Ive never been knocked down. Im either up or im getting up. Democrats are not getting knocked down. Were either up or getting up. Iowa never been knocked down. Youre either up or getting up. America has never ever been knocked down. Were either up or were getting up. Thank you, iowa [applause] thank you all veryuc
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